Signed and dated 1908, this oil by Emil Cardinaux (1877–1936) shows the Lötschental Breithorn seen from Fafleralp, Valais, Switzerland.

There are several Breithorn mountains recorded in the German-speaking Alps, of which the three most significant are the one above Zermatt (the highest, at 4,164 metres), the Lauterbrunnen Breithorn that dominates the south end of the eponymous valley, and the Lötschental peak. Meaning 'Broad Horn', the Breithorn seen in Emil Cardinaux's tranquil view from the valley near Fafleralp is situated in one of Switzerland's most beautiful and still relatively unspoilt valleys.

Cardinaux grew up in Bern and in 1898 spent two years at the München Kunstakademie, where he became a pupil of the German painter and sculptor Franz von Stuck, founder of the Munich Secession in 1892. Between 1905 and 1920, Cardinaux worked in many mediums, producing oil paintings alongside a large body of lithographed posters, book illustrations, paintings on glass, and decorative murals for civic and private commissions.

Like Burger and Schlatter, Cardinaux is better known today as a graphic artist – renowned above all for his celebrated posters promoting Swiss tourism and the lure of the famous Rhätische Bahn railway. His lithograph style, characterised by bright colours and simple, clear forms, championed traditional landscape motifs; more than any other aspect of his work, his posters became the prototype for an ideal picture of Switzerland and asserted notions of Swiss independence and idiosyncrasy.

Oil paintings by Cardinaux are considerably rarer on the market than his graphic work. Collectors of Swiss poster art, the Munich Secession circle, and Lötschental/Valais Alpine views will find this an important and unusual painted example from an artist chiefly remembered today for print and design.